The scholars, who are in the U.S. on student visas for a three-month public administration program, disappeared from the university earlier this month -- they were reported missing Oct. 6 when they didn't show up for a training session.

UW spokesman Norm Arkans said the young men's backgrounds were thoroughly vetted by authorities before their visas were issued, and they are not believed to present any kind of security threat.

Those familiar with the case think it's more likely that they came to the UW with the intent of slipping away from the university and remaining in the country illegally.

Two scholars from Afghanistan vanished in 2007, though they completed the program before fleeing.

"That's not a door we want to have opened," Arkans said. "It's not what this program is about."

UW officials declined to release photos of the scholars or their names, saying they chose to notify the public in hopes that the scholars would return on their own.

The five are among 38 scholars studying public administration at the UW through the Afghan eQuality Alliance, a program coordinated with the U.S. Agency for International Development. That agency conducted background checks on each of the students, and no red flags were raised at the time.

All of the scholars are midcareer graduate students working for the Afghan government or nonprofit organizations. They are using UW libraries and other resources to complete thesis projects to earn master of public policy and administration degrees at Kabul University.

UW police notified the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week when the five failed to show up for a session.

A spokeswoman for immigration enforcement confirmed that the agency has been made aware of the scholars' disappearance and that an investigation is ongoing.

The disappearance has UW officials worrying about the future of the program. Arkans said a change in how background checks are conducted is under consideration.

"This is a great program, and we are sorry that these scholars are not taking advantage of everything that it has to offer them. We have hosted international scholars and fellows for over 20 years, and something like this is highly unusual."

Because they failed to show up for training, the scholars are in violation of their student-visa agreements.

When the scholars accepted spots in the UW program, they agreed to attend every training session.

UW instructors and administrators have been given no reason for the students' absence from the program for a week.